


Sleep(less)

by nirroca



Series: Lavender [23]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Ellana learns to ask for help, Established Relationship, F/F, Implied Past Trauma, POV Cassandra Pentaghast, Protective Cassandra Pentaghast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27861201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirroca/pseuds/nirroca
Summary: Waking alone in the middle of the night happens more often than Cassandra would like.
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cassandra Pentaghast, Female Lavellan/Cassandra Pentaghast
Series: Lavender [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/607711
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Sleep(less)

She wakes to a coolness beside her. Something that was becoming far too common for comfort these days the closer the end of their battle drew nearer.

The room is dark. Ellana wasn’t in her usual place hunched over maps and missives at her desk then. Her dreams had been getting worse, a fact Cassandra had had to pry out of her with a surprising amount of difficulty. 

As her eyes adjust she listens to the quiet of the room in the hopes of hearing if Ellana was still there. She hears the faint whip of heavy curtains rippling in the breeze and lets go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

_ A very bad dream then _ . Cassandra sighs rolling out of bed. Ellana only went out of the balcony when she didn’t want to be heard because she knew how light a sleeper Cassandra was, even in the safety of Skyhold. 

She can feel the chill from here Cassandra realises as she wraps a heavy blanket around herself, slipping on a pair of fur lined slippers. She knows Ellana well enough to know it's doubtful she would have thought to put on anything more than a robe before stepping out into the night chill. 

An assumption that proves to be correct when she finds her barefoot on the balcony, curled in on herself as she looks out at the mountains that frame the valley they are in.

“You’ll freeze out here Lana,” Cassandra murmurs softly into the quiet of the night, letting Ellana know she is there before she embraces her from behind. She wraps the blanket around the both of them, pulling Ellana’s cold frame flush against her own. 

Ellana says nothing as Cassandra’s nose brushes against the cold flesh of her neck before she presses a soft kiss to her shoulder with an exhale that lingers in the chilled air.

She worries, but she is content when she feels Ellana rest more of her weight against her.

“It's the same one still,” Ellana whispers quietly, her breath a shadow against the moonlit mountains.

It's as if she’s read her mind.   
  
“I still wish you would wake me,” Cassandra replies, hoping that the hurt in her chest doesn’t show in her words.

“I know.”

Cassandra feels the weak laugh that shakes her frame.

“I just -” Ellana pauses, and knowing what she’s about to say Cassandra cuts her off.

“You’re never a bother. Or a burden. Or anything else. And you never will be,” Cassandra replies firmly. The effect of her words lessened when she shivers at a gust of wind that creeps around their ankles and under the blanket.

“But we're not having that argument out here,” Cassandra admonishes, leaving no room for argument as she lifts Ellana with ease with the grip she has around her waist.

Ellana laughs as she carries her inside and closes the door behind her with her hip. It's an honest laugh and Cassandra hopes it's enough to chase away the shadows at the edges of Ellana’s mind long enough for her to rest.

She doesn’t let go until she sits on the edge of the rumpled bed, the weight of Ellana welcome in her lap as she rests her chin on her shoulder.   
  
“I’d ask you to promise to wake me next time but I know you won’t,” Cassandra sighs.

“Sorry,” Ellana laughs weakly, resting her head against hers. 

Silence dances between them as Ellana’s breath warms her skin with each exhale. 

“Cass?” Ellana mumbles quietly, and Cassandra hums in reply. “Hold me? Please?”

“Always,” Cassandra breathes, kissing the pulse beating strong in Ellana’s neck.

She shifts, making her way under the covers and opening her arms for Ellana, who clings to her like she’s a lifeline in the darkness.

As Cassandra pulls her closer she supposes she is. Or at the very least a dependable constant in her life. Where once she thought intimacy was physical, and something she tended to shy away from. Ellana helps her realise that intimacy was so much more than that. It was vulnerability, laying one's self bare for another and being accepted, flaws and all.

“Sleep my love, I’ve got you,” Cassandra sighs as she feels the limbs that Ellana has wrapped around her grow heavy. Her weight is like an anchor in a calm sea, Cassandra the safe harbour that offered her shelter from the storm of her life. 

Sleep is quick in claiming her - as it so usually is these days - and Cassandra’s last thoughts are of warmth and full hearts. The faint smell of Elfroot and the feeling of security that came with it. Of Ellana. Of them. Of a brighter tomorrow.  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thankyou for reading :)


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